The Messerschmitt P.1079 was a series of pulsejet-powered

Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in partic ...

fighter projects during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The P.1079 aircraft designs were to be powered by

pulse jet 300px, Diagram of a pulsejet A pulsejet engine (or pulse jet) is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically (i.e. it does not need t ...

s, the same engines used in the

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

History

In May 1941, Messerschmitt began work on a series of pulsejet-powered fighter designs under the designation P.1079 after it was obvious that the BMW turbojets planned for the Me 262 were not yet available and

pulsejet 300px, Diagram of a pulsejet A pulsejet engine (or pulse jet) is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically (i.e. it does not need ...

s were simpler and cheaper to build At any rate the Argus pulsejets proved themselves unsuitable for manned aircraft that would have to take off unassisted, for they did not produce enough power at low speeds for takeoff. Since additional launch schemes would have to be added to the project, such as

towplane Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is al ...

aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carrier ...

s or rocket boosters, the goal of the program would be defeated and expenses would be far higher than projected. A further variant, the Me P.1079 18 ''Schwalbe'', appears in some publications. But this "experimental aircraft" is a widely publicized

hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...

, not a real Messerschmitt project.

Variants

All of the Me P.1079 variants were small planes and none of them would have been able to take off unassisted. All projected aircraft were provided with retractable skids for landing.Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage, ''Aircraft of the Luftwaffe, 1935Ð1945: An Illustrated Guide'', p. 260-61Sharp, D., 2024. ''Messerschmitt Me 328: Development and Politics.'' Horncastle, UK: Tempest Books.

Me P.1079/1

1941 project powered by a single pulsejet placed above the fuselage. The wings were short and swept back.

Me P.1079/2

Powered by a single Argus-Schmidt SR 500 pulsejet. It had the cockpit at the front end of the long fuselage and short swept wings. The narrow air intake was located in a ventral position below the cockpit.

Me P.1079/10c

Powered by a single SR 500 pulsejet, half of which protruded from the tail end. The air intake was located behind the cockpit on top of the fuselage. This was one of the least sophisticated designs.

Me P.1079/13b

Me P.1079/15

Asymmetric design, powered by a single pulsejet, having a broad, flat-looking fuselage with the cockpit on the right side and the pulsejet on the left.

Me P.1079/16

Another asymmetrical small plane powered by a single pulsejet. Except for the twin vertical tailfins and the air intake design it was similar to the Me P.1079 15 with a broad flat body having the cockpit on the right and the pulsejet on the left.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messerschmitt P 1079 P.1079 Abandoned military aircraft projects of Germany World War II jet aircraft of Germany Pulsejet-powered aircraft